flstandardbreds Chapter 373 Textile Technology
Chapter 373 Textile Technology
A piece of coarse cloth was worth only a dozen to twenty silver coins, but if the weaving technology was good and it was made into fine cloth, the price of a piece of fine cloth would be between 150 and 200 silver coins.
The same cotton can produce cloth with such a huge difference in price due to different craftsmanship, Xiao Mo naturally felt that it was a waste to use good cotton to weave coarse cloth.
"The textile technology in our Tianqin country varies from place to place. The fine cloth woven in the capital is as smooth as silk, and it is woven with all kinds of beautiful patterns."
"When we got to Ningchuan City, we couldn't even weave ordinary fine cloth, let alone patterns."
"It's a pity indeed. Are the skills of the textile workers in Ningchuan City so far inferior to those in the capital?"
Ye Jintang looked confused. She felt that they were all from the same country, so even if the textile technology varied from place to place, it wouldn't be so different.
"Don't forget that this is a place of exile. I went to see the textile machines and spinning machines in Yushan City. They are more backward than those in the capital. Some workshops even twist cotton thread manually instead of using spinning machines."
The thing that is most lacking in the land of exile is refugees. The situation in Yushan City is not much better than that in Ningchuan City. A large number of refugees are held by officials and forced to do hard labor.
Passed down from generation to generation, perhaps they felt that it was cheaper to let the refugees spin the cotton thread by hand than to buy new spinning machines.
"There is another important reason why we have less fine cloth and more coarse cloth here. Coarse cloth is wear-resistant, while fine cloth is not."
"There are many poor people in Ningchuan Prefecture. They are so poor that they can't even afford to eat, so they naturally try to save as much as possible on clothes. Many families can't buy a piece of coarse cloth clothing for several years. Under such circumstances, most of the cloth shops in Ningchuan City sell coarse cloth."
"That's not right. Ningchuan Prefecture is rich in cotton, and the quality of the cotton is relatively good. If the cotton is shipped to other places for sale, the price will be higher. Then, if we buy some lower-quality cotton and make it into coarse cloth for sale, wouldn't the profit be higher this way?"
Ye Jintang quickly calculated in his mind the cost of producing a piece of cotton cloth.
"Ningchuan Prefecture is vast. As for the official road, you saw it when we came here. It's almost the same whether there is one or not. Cotton and coarse cloth are cheap items. The cost of shipping them out of Ningchuan Prefecture is estimated to be more expensive than cotton and coarse cloth. This account is not appropriate no matter how you calculate it."
A piece of coarse cloth costs only a dozen cents in Ningchuan City. The unit price is so low that it cannot afford any trouble.
"No wonder such good cotton is all woven into coarse cloth."
"Exactly. Jintang, do you have a good way to solve this deadlock? In the short term, most of the people in Ningchuan City will still wear coarse cloth clothes. They have to do a lot of work, and only coarse cloth clothes are durable."
"But I don't want to waste such good cotton."
In Xiao Mo's eyes, Ye Jintang is omnipotent, especially experienced in business.
"Your Highness already has a rough idea in mind."
Ye Jintang looked at Xiao Mo with a smile. Since he asked her, he must have some ideas.
"I have a lot of ideas in my mind right now, but I don't know how to solve them. You have a quick mind, so help me think of a solution."
"Of course there is a way. We can weave the good cotton in Ningchuan Prefecture into fine cloth, transport it to other cities for sale, and then directly buy coarse cloth from outside."
"As long as we can sell a piece of fine cloth for 150 coins, we will make a profit. As for the price of coarse cloth in other cities, we need to study it carefully to see where it is sold at the cheapest price."
"Let's not talk about other places. In Ningchuan City alone, we can't even find a few good spinning and looms. In the middle of winter, we can't let the refugees really twist cotton thread by hand. Besides, the hand-twisted cotton thread is not thin or strong enough to weave good quality fine cloth."
"Have you seen them all, Your Majesty?"
Xiao Mo nodded. He had thought of this method as well, but without spinning machines and looms everything was just wishful thinking.
"Spinning machines and looms are not too troublesome items. I don't believe that there are not a few people who can make spinning machines and looms in such a big city like Ningchuan."
When Xiao Mo heard Ye Jintang say this, his eyes lit up.
"You mean we should find someone to make spinning and weaving machines ourselves?"
"Yes, what Ningchuan City lacks the most is refugees. Some of them are ordinary people who have committed crimes, and some are exiled because of their masters' implicated. Among these people, there are always a few people related to textiles."
"They may not be able to make spinning machines directly, but even if they have never eaten pork, they have seen pigs running. They have a rough idea of what the textile machines in the capital look like."
"We have no shortage of skilled carpenters in Ningchuan City. As long as everyone studies carefully, it won't take long for new looms and spinning machines to be made."
"Of course this is an ideal situation. If it is really impossible to make it, I will have people purchase some looms and spinning machines and send them directly to us in the spring of next year."
Xiao Mo nodded helplessly.
However, the winter in Ningchuan Prefecture is particularly long. If he really wants to buy a loom from other places and send it over, it will probably take until April or May next year. There is still such a long time, and he doesn't want to waste it.
There are some things he wants to take care of during the winter, and when next spring comes, all his attention will be focused on planting various crops.
"Then I'll put up a notice now and see if I can find someone related to textiles."
"I hope everything goes well, so that the idle refugees in the city won't have to sit around doing nothing all winter and let me take care of them."
"Ah, what do you mean?"
Xiao Mo was a little confused. How did the refugees become the ones being raised by Ye Jintang?
"Before you came back, didn't I order private shops and workshops in Ningchuan City not to employ refugees? They have no work and can only stay in the refugee camp. There are more than 2000 of them in total. If they don't have work, they have no food to eat. Now they can only eat one meal a day and barely survive."
"Even if there is no weaving work, I will find work for them these days. They have to fill their stomachs. I don't want to support a group of people who eat for free."
"It's hard to manage refugees. Some of them are extremely evil. Just give them one meal a day so they don't starve to death. If they are overfed, they will easily cause trouble."
"I have asked people to reorganize the information of all refugees. I will assign jobs to those who committed murder, arson and other evil deeds, and will not let them be grouped with ordinary refugees."
Ye Jintang had already thought about this carefully.
It is almost impossible to expect people who have done so many evil things to change their nature just because they are exiled.
If you give them a chance, you never know when they will stab you in the back.
Ye Jintang would rather go through the trouble of investigating these refugees than face the possibility of someone tripping her up in secret one day.
Xiao Mo and Ye Jintang sat in the room and talked for a long time. The whole Ningchuan City was in a state of disrepair and there were too many things they needed to do. Textiles were just the tip of the iceberg and they still had a lot to do.
In the afternoon, Xiao Mo told Mr. Cai his idea, and asked him to draft the content of the notice. As for whether he could recruit the right person, that would depend on fate.